The Castle of Love by Barbara Cartland Page B

wife there?"
    "They were greeting guests, miss, at the door. I'd have liked to stay longer but that Monsewer appeared. He lit a cigar and stood there smoking and watching through the windows too. I crept away. I didn't want him seeing me. He's a skulker, he is. I was polishing silver in the pantry this morning and there he was skulking inside the gunroom!"
    Jacina sat up with a jolt.
    "The gunroom?"
    "Yes, miss."
    "Did he – did he take a pistol or anything?"
    "I didn't see one on him, miss, but what else was he in there for? I don't trust him one bit, I'd – Oh, Miss Jacina!" Nancy's hand flew to her mouth. " Miss Jacina, what are you doing?"
    Jacina had pushed back the bedclothes and slid her legs to the floor. "Getting up," she said firmly.
    "But what for?" cried Nancy.
    "To go – to the ball," replied Jacina. She hoped she sounded stronger than she felt.
    "You can't do that, miss!" exclaimed Nancy.
    "I can and – I will," said Jacina. "But you must – help me. Before Sarah comes. Would you bring me – my dress from the wardrobe? Please!"
    Nancy hesitated. Then she went to the wardrobe and
    opened it. "Which one, miss?"
     Jacina was struggling out of her nightgown. "My best. The blue muslin."
    Nancy brought the dress over to Jacina.
    "Help me put it on," urged Jacina.
    She held up her arms. Nancy slipped the muslin dress over her head and then started fastening the hooks.
    "Hurry, Nancy. Hurry."
    "It's these hooks, miss. My fingers is all thumbs!"
    At last it was done. Jacina moved unsteadily to the pier glass to take a look. She was shocked at what she saw. Her hair was tangled. Her cheeks and lips were pale as chalk. Her eyes held no lustre.
    She picked up her hairbrush for an instant and then put it down. It could not be helped. She had no time to prettify herself. Sarah might return at any moment and Jacina knew she did not have the strength to defy the old Nanny in person.
    Nancy was folding up Jacina's nightdress.
    "Nancy?"
    "Yes, miss?"
    "Is there any sign of Sarah coming upstairs?"
    Nancy walked to the door and looked out. "No, miss."
    "Thank you Nancy," said Jacina.
    "Miss Jacina?"
    "Yes, Nancy?"
    "You won't tell no one about me sneaking the oyster, will you?"
    Jacina gave her a weak smile. "No, Nancy, of course I won't."
    With that she stepped out into the corridor and hurried down the tower steps.
    At first her legs felt as if they would give way beneath
    her at any moment. Every five steps or so she had to stop and lean on a table or against the wall. As she progressed however, she grew stronger.
     She began to move with greater confidence.
    At the top of the main stairway she stopped and peeped over the banisters into the Great Hall below.
    The servants had risen before dawn to decorate the hall under the stern eye of Jarrold. The walls were bedecked with ribbons and sprays of flowers stood on the consoles. Candles flared in garlanded sconces.
    The entrance door was flung wide open. Jarrold stood outside waiting to greet the coaches.
    Jacina glanced at herself in the gilded mirror that hung at the head of the stairway. She still looked ghostly. On an impulse she plucked a white flower from a spray arranged on the table in front of the mirror. She fixed the flower in her hair and then slowly descended.
    She could hear music and laughter as she approached the ballroom. Its doors were wide open and dancers whirled by in the bright light beyond. The brightness spilled down the centre of the corridor like a golden carpet.
    Jacina stopped in her tracks. She moved into the shadows.
    The Earl and Felice stood just inside the door. They were greeting a guest, Lord Bulling, whom Jacina recognised from one of the many suppers she had attended at the castle.
    There was no sign of Fronard.
    The Earl looked very distinguished in his dark frock coat. Felice looked stunning in a scarlet gown threaded with gold. Her amber eyes glittered at Lord Bulling over the top of her open fan.
    It was obvious the Earl had not yet